10 Animated Movies That Should Have Won The Oscar For Best Animation (But Didn't Because The Award Didn't Exist Yet)

There may be better Miyazaki films over the years. Some will argue for My Neighbour Totoro, others will say Castle In The Sky. However, in a time before the Academy gave out an Oscar for Animated Feature, Princess Mononoke was the most famous.

The film stands up as well today, perhaps more so, than it did in 1997 because of its central message of environmentalism and care for the planet around us. It remains a masterpiece of the art-form and one of Studio Ghibli's most celebrated creations.

The story of a warrior called Ashitaka, cursed by a dying pig and forced into exile from his village, Princess Mononoke is the height of a Japanese fairytale. Giant Wolf gods, forest spirits and humans bent on industrialisation, yes this is everything that fantasy anime has to offer and a great first one to get those sceptics hooked.

A box office success, Princess Mononoke was a bit of a breakthrough for anime films in western popular culture as it got a star-studded English language voice cast upon its release, which included the likes of Billy Crudup, Claire Danes, Minnie Driver, Billy Bob Thornton, Gillian Anderson and Keith David. As well as it being re-written by Neil Gaiman.

In an era that came to be defined as Disney's golden age, Princess Mononoke stands up with the best animated movies of the 1990s.